Bisexual Women Surprisingly Prevalent in MMOs, Suggests Study

Shack Staff

December 23, 2008 10:57 AM

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After tallying the results of over 2,400 completed web-based surveys, researchers told BBC News that females make up roughly 40% of the EverQuest II "gaming population."

Furthermore, those women were found to display "an unusually high level of bisexuality," beating out the rate of "general population" bisexuality by more than five times.

The study suggests that men and women play online games for different reasons, with men wanting to win and women wanting to socialize. In fact, a "high proportion" of women claimed to play EverQuest II with a romantic partner.

"These are not people who are following strict gender stereotypes," said lead researcher Scott Caplan. "I think what you would find in this population are going to be people who are in other ways less traditional than the majority population."

EverQuest II publisher Sony also provided the researchers at the University of Delaware and University of Southern California with information on the players' in-game behavior, though the report did not provide any details or specifics. Thanks to ArcKnight for the tip.

Faylor's Take: This seems to eerily coincide with the fantasies of many, and given that the survey's web-based methodology provided an easy opportunity to lie, let's just say I'm a bit skeptical.

Steve's Take: This is pretty much how I picture it in my head (a lot) so it is nice to get some confirmation.

Shack Staff

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